Grow small, think big: designing a local food system for London, Ontario

Abstract

This article provides a case study and a proposal for a neighbourhood strategy to strengthen the local food system. The proposal is a manual for a transferable strategy on how to establish a decentralized network of food production, not to replace industrial agriculture but to address its weaknesses. This paper explores how establishing a local food system can encourage people to think big by growing on a small scale, and how urban agriculture can have positive environmental, social, and economic effects. The Hamilton Road Neighbourhood in London, Ontario is the particular case study site this paper explores and analyzes for its appropriateness and receptiveness to urban agriculture. The paper uses lessons adapted from Rob Hopkin’s Transition Town strategy to develop a specific illustration of what a cohesive infrastructure for a local food system could look like in the context of Hamilton Road as well as a manual for a transferable strategy for establishing a network of urban agriculture anywhere.